Cypress Lake (GA)
Georgia wetlands receive landmark protections from federal court
Despite the benefits they bring to coastal areas, Cypress and other hardwood swamps across the South are facing increasing pressures from encroaching development as well as the sale of garden mulch made from these trees.
However, in a decision handed down by U.S. District Court Judge B. Avant Edenfield, thousands of acres of wetlands across Georgia and the country will finally receive the protections they deserve under the law.
In June 2008, the federal court handed down a decision that will provide forested wetlands across the country with landmark protections and will prevent destructive tree harvesting operations along the Georgia Coast. At issue in Ogeechee-Canoochee Riverkeeper, Inc. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers et al. was a decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to exempt a proposed timber harvest from Clean Water Act regulation on the basis that the harvest was a part of ongoing tree farming operation. Judge Edenfield held that the proposed harvest was not a part of an ongoing tree farming operation and therefore not exempt from clean water regulations.
This latest wetlands battle was fought in South Georgia, where the Savannah District of the Corps of Engineers, the agency responsible for carrying out the protections of the federal Clean Water Act, illegally allowed 60 acres of forested wetlands to be harvested from Cypress Lake without requiring a permit.
©Beth Young
Cypress Lake is a several hundred acre forested lake south of Statesboro, GA that provides valuable habitat to a variety of species and provides storm and flood protection. In addition, the lake is used for hunting, fishing and other recreational activities. An illegal decision by the Corps of Engineers makes the lake's cypress trees vulnerable to harvesting.
Not only did this violate the Clean Water Act, but the decision would have meant that the lake would be drained for up to four years to allow the trees to grow back, sacrificing natural habitat as well as recreational opportunities in the meantime. Furthermore, if regrowth didn't occur, 60 acres of vital habitat for wildlife could have been permanently lost.
In November 2006, SELC and the Turner Environmental Law Clinic, on behalf of the Ogeechee-Canoochee Riverkeeper, filed suit against the Army Corps of Engineers to require a permit before any tree harvesting occurs.
While most development in wetlands requires a permit from the Corps, harvesting trees from some wetlands may be exempt from needing a permit if the harvest is an ongoing operation and the trees will regenerate naturally. However, the Corps’ decision to not require a permit in this case was made without defining what constitutes an ongoing timber cultivation operation, nor did it ensure that the harvested trees will re grow to allow the operation to continue in the future.
In ponds and lakes that have cypress and other hardwood stands, the trees will not grow back unless the lakes remain drained for several years or seedlings are planted. This could mean the draining of Cypress Lake for up to four years while hoping for tree re growth. Even so, the trees may not ever return.
The Savannah District Corps of Engineers based its decision on an opinion by the Georgia Forestry Commission that the natural re growth of the harvested trees “should occur” if the trees are able to regenerate from seed. The Georgia Forestry Commission explained that the water level in the lake will need to be kept down to allow seed regeneration. However, the Corps failed to recognize that the harvest plans do not require the lake’s water levels to be kept down, so the trees will be unable to regenerate from seed.
